Driving this thang is therapeutic. Such a better deal over therapy!

Anyhow, I have noticed that when I am driving really fast (for my car) like around 80-90 mph that the car seems to drift slightly. That is, I notice lateral movement that is not as a result of me moving the steering wheel.

Is that normal? What could it be? Is there something I can do to fix the issue?

Thanks,

David

p.s its a 1976 2.0L, if that matters..

You could just leave it and join the local Drifters club... It's all the rage now!

are your tires any good? too much air pressure?
when was the last time you had it aligned?

Andy

Hi,

Just put brand new sumitomo performance tires on it. 185/?15s. They aligned the front when they installed the tires, and the rear cant be aligned, I guess, cuz the rear axle is fixed.

I am assuming that the tire pressure is correct cuz the tires are new, but I can certainly check that if its a possible cause.

Just feels like the steering is kinda loose. I know I need shocks really bad. Maybe something else needs to be replaced? Or maybe the alignment wasnt done correctly?

Thanks,

David

Turbo tie rod time?

huh?

Andy

You could slow down.

find a better shop, the rear is adjustable, they are just too lazy/stupid to figure it out

Mueller,

Why do you have a showa motorcycle fork piston as your avatar, or is it just my imagination??

Erik Madsen

Looks like a four bolt Fuch inspired pulley to me.

Do you have a front swaybar on the car? This is the sensation I got from my car before the swaybar was installed.

Carl

back to your "drifting"...not sure if those tires are directional or not, but if so, make sure they are installed correctly, I've had that happen before...it is possible you have suspension damage as well



it also looks like an internal part from a boge shock I took apart one time

Mark is correct, I drew up a few different clutch cable pulleys for possible manufacture

If your 914 is "floating" around at higher speeds (Greater than 50mph), then you have to check all the things that pretty much can go wrong with any car. Struts/shocks - are they worn? Have you done a bounce test?
Tires, 185's should be fine, but probably won't be that stable at speeds over 80mph (I am guessing they are 185/70/15's)
Also, the shop that did your alingment doesn't know about Porsches, go and get your money back, call around and take it somewhere else. Someone needs to go through and check for loose/worn suspension parts and rust on the rght rear suspension counsel.

There is more you could check, but hopefully you get the idea.

My guess is that you need to have the rear aligned. Yep it takes special shims for the camber adjustment but for toe in and out they just move it. There are 3 bolts to loosen and then it slides around.
Also, 185x65 are pretty tall sidewall tires and they have lots of flex and squirm.
Check the tie rods, balljoints and wheel bearings for slop and wear.

Geoff

You might as well go through and check all of the suspension components. If you need new shocks, then get some of those. While you're in there, check bushings, ball joints, tie rods, etc. It's possible that they may still be original. I'm in the process of re-doing my front end right now. 30 year old ball joints are no fun to take out. Damn near gave myself a hernia!

Oh ya, and find a new alignment shop. The place I took my car to told me the same thing. "The rear isn't adjustable" I said sure it is, you want me to show you where? They say, you never told us to do the rear. Idiots!

I definitely need new shocks. Mine are completely worn, my mechanic was really clear about that. Gonna have him install some soon. Could that be it?

I'll ask him to check the other components as well while he is in there.

Thanks.


David

If the shocks are worn, you probably want to change them before you do anything else.

The alignment shouldn't be affected by the shocks, but the handling definately can be. My car had a KONI with _no_ oil in it. It was a beast until I got that fixed. The shaft would actually bounce in the shock when I got it out of the car.

--bryan